Gallery of the Masters Fine Art Gallery

John James Audubon

1785-1851 America (French/American)-Romanticism

Brief Biography-John James Audubon was from Les Cayes; Santo Domingo in what is now Haiti. He was a naturalist, ornithologist and painter. In 1827, he published his study Birds of America which was a considerable success. He became an eminent illustrator and went on to write several books on birds.
He spent his early years in Nantes, France and at the age of eighteen his father sent him to America to avoid the Napoleonic wars. On arrival in America he changed his name from Jean Jacques to John James. He stayed on a farm his father had bought him in Pennsylvania. There he spent his time exploring the local bird life. After a series of failed business ventures, he earned a living doing brief portraits and eventually took painting lessons from none other than Thomas Cole. His wife Lucy mainly supported them at this stage, teaching children. In 1826, he had trouble publishing his work in Philadelphia and decided to leave for England. He successfully published Birds of America in London. When he returned to America a few years later he became a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 1851, he died in his home in Manhattan where his son John Woodhouse took over the completion of his works.